2014 REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH BILL SUMMARY

Final

Anti-Women’s
Health Bills

Planned
Parenthood and women’s reproductive rights are under attack. Numerous
anti-women’s health proposals have been introduced this session in the
Missouri General assembly. Planned Parenthood will always stick to its
mission and provide accurate information and education to individuals of all
ages; ensure that as many people as possible have access to high-quality,
affordable health care; and protect and advocate for reproductive
rights. ACT. No matter what.

Extends
the current state mandated delay prior to having an abortion from 24 hours to
72 hours. Personal medical decisions
should be left to a woman, her family, her faith, and her doctor — without
interference from politicians. Make no
mistake, THESE BILLS ARE ABOUT POLITICS -- NOT WOMEN’S HEALTH.

Similar
to HB 1307/HB1313 is the Senate’s version of seventy-two hour waiting period
SB 519. Extends the current state
mandated delay prior to having an abortion from 24 hours to 72 hours. The current informed consent process for
abortion in Missouri is exceedingly rigorous. Before a woman can access
abortion in Missouri, she must face a 24 hour mandatory delay, a two visit
requirement, and must be presented with state mandated information. Forcing a
woman to wait even longer before accessing medical care does nothing to
improve her health and will push her abortion later in pregnancy.

PRC’s employ religiosity, misinformation, and
unfulfilled promises of assistance to persuade women to continue their
pregnancy. The state should not be using tax incentives to fund organizations
that lure vulnerable women by misrepresenting their services and fail to
deliver medically accurate information.

PRC’s employ religiosity, misinformation, and
unfulfilled promises of assistance to persuade women to continue their
pregnancy. The state should not be using tax incentives to fund organizations
that lure vulnerable women by misrepresenting their services and fail to
deliver medically accurate information.

Specifies
that anyone providing medical services cannot be required to perform or
participate in activities that violate his or her conscience or principles. Pharmacists, physicians, and other medical
clinicians have professional and ethical responsibilities to their patients. These bills specifically
single out women’s reproductive health care, including information and access
to emergency contraception for rape survivors, for refusal of care. HB1430 also declares that health care institutions have a “conscience” and provides
expansive protections to institutions that refuse to provide standard medical
care or individuals that refuse to provide care required by their
institution. Science – not
politics – should determine medical decisions.

SB 660 creates a flawed scheme of how state and
federal family planning funds are allocated to specific providers, allowing
patients at hospitals and other primary health care providers to get publicly
funded care while those choosing to get care at popular family planning
providers such as Planned Parenthood would be denied publicly funded
care. This could also prevent patients
at health centers from receiving other types of federal or state funded
services, such as treatment and prevention for sexually transmitted
infections or cancer screenings and counseling.

This
bill is an attempt by politicians to steer private medical conversations
between partners away from merely discussing the safe and legal option
of abortion without fear of loss of custody rights later. No woman should be forced or coerced into
ANY decision related to her pregnancy.
A woman and her partner have the right to discuss decisions about
whether to choose adoption, end a pregnancy, or raise a child.

This
legislation would impose the full burdensome and medically inappropriate
informed consent process on any woman who is ONLY seeking information about
abortion care options outside of Missouri. Requiring Missouri women who are
simply seeking information about abortion outside the state to undergo the informed
consent process is clearly an attempt to make access to that information nearly
impossible. Among other things, this
poorly drafted piece of legislation would add yet another layer of reporting
to an additional state agency and identifies additional state bureaucrats who
are responsible for enforcing state law as well as increasing penalties
against doctors.

The bill makes
it illegal for a physician to provide an abortion to a woman without
notarized permission from the father.
The only exceptions are in cases in which the pregnancy is the result
of rape or incest or in a medical emergency.

Mandates
that, 3 days before receiving and abortion, a woman undergo a vaginal
ultrasound, even if not medically necessary, and even if it is against her
will. The bill also contains numerous new, burdensome
and duplicative requirements for counseling, evaluating, and performing abortion
procedures that intended to shame and coerce a woman seeking abortion into
changing her mind. The bill is an aggressive intrusion
on the doctor/patient relationship and ignores existing law as well as the
standard practice of medical care already in place for abortion providers.

The bill seeks
to protect and encourage broad-based discrimination by protecting any
Missourian who cites religious beliefs as a legal justification for their
actions. This could give hospitals, pharmacists, physicians, and other
medical clinicians the right to deny information and access to reproductive
health care without consequence. The bill includes few limits on protected
activities and would allow an emergency room worker to withhold emergency
contraception from a rape survivor or a business to drop insurance coverage
for birth control for its employees.

HB
1148 & HB 1379 would require a woman undergo and view an ultrasound 24
hours in advance of her abortion.
Current law states that a woman must have an opportunity to view an
ultrasound 24 hours in advance but may decline. A woman should
have accurate information about all of her options. Information should
support a woman, help her make a decision for herself, and enable her to take
care of her health and well-being. Coercing women to view an ultrasound is
disrespectful to women and has no place in Missouri law. Politicians forcing doctors to use an ultrasound for
political — and not medical — reasons is the very definition of government
intrusion.

Specifies
that the constitutions and laws of the United States and Missouri must
protect the rights of an alternatives-to-abortion agency and its officers to
freely engage in activities without interference, which includes Pregnancy
Resource Centers (PRC). HB 1103 and SB
658 would place PRCs above any safety or privacy regulation. PRCs are on record providing false and
misleading information to vulnerable women and are currently not required to
provide medically factual or accurate information to them. In contrast, abortion providers adhere to
more than 30 laws and regulations—many of which are unnecessary restrictions.

The
bill creates a new cause for denial of parental custody, visitation, and
adoption consent if a partner is found to have “attempted to coerce” a woman
into having an abortion. The bill is not clear on how such an attempt would
be demonstrated to the court. Current
Missouri law has strict regulations related to the informed consent process
for abortion that prohibit coercion. No woman should be forced or coerced
into ANY decision related to her pregnancy.
A woman and her partner have the right to discuss decisions about
whether to choose adoption, end a pregnancy, or raise a child. The bill is an attempt by politicians to
steer private medical conversations between partners away from merely
discussing the safe and legal option of abortion.

Prohibits
abortion for sex selection or in cases of genetic abnormalities. Opponents of abortion continue to look for
new and different angles on intervening in personal and private decisions and
playing politics with women’s health. A woman should not be forced by
politicians to carry to term a fetus that has a genetic abnormality that may
be incompatible with life. Abortion is a deeply personal and often complex
decision for a woman, and politicians should not be involved.

HB 1353 creates a flawed scheme of how state
and federal family planning funds are allocated to specific providers,
allowing patients at hospitals and other primary health care providers to get
publicly funded care while those choosing to get care at popular family
planning providers such as Planned Parenthood would be denied publicly funded
care.

We
ALL want our teens to be safe. Parental consent and notification laws are
opposed by major medical groups including the American Medical Association,
American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Public Health Association
because research has shown they do not increase parental involvement, do not
foster healthy communication, and in fact can be very detrimental to the
health and safety of young women.
State law already requires a female under the age of 18 to obtain
written informed consent of one parent or guardian prior to an abortion.

HB
1192 requires the two-parent notice writing 5 days prior to the performance
of an abortion in addition to the existing requirement that a female under
the age of 18 to obtain written informed consent of one parent or guardian
prior to an abortion.
Parents rightfully want to be involved in their teenagers' lives, and
the good news is that most teens do go to their parents when faced with an
unintended pregnancy. But in the real world, no law can
mandate family communication. Adding administrative obstacles that are nearly
insurmountable to the teen can force them to take matters into their own
hands.

Young
people deserve the right to access the full range of reproductive and sexual
health services they need. Research has shown that parental involvement laws often
delay young people’s access to services, endangering their health and
safety. For those young people who are
afraid to seek the advice of parents or guardians regarding sensitive health
care issues, or face the threat of violence in their homes – it is
best for them to seek advice of a trained medical professional than
to face the situation alone or afraid.

Young
people deserve the right to access the full range of reproductive and sexual
health services they need. Research has shown that parental involvement laws often
delay young people’s access to services, endangering their health and
safety. For those young people who are
afraid to seek the advice of parents or guardians regarding sensitive health
care issues, or face the threat of violence in their homes – it is
best for them to seek advice of a trained medical professional than
to face the situation alone or afraid.

House
Committee Substitute Voted Do Pass
General
Laws Committee 2/5/14

Current
state law already dictates a strict informed consent process which must be
completed in person and 24 hours before any abortion services are
provided, regardless of age. Current law also mandates teens under 18 have
the consent of one parent before accessing abortion in Missouri. This bill would require the Department of
Health and Senior Services to create separate, duplicative, informed consent
processes for teens and consenting parents.
A woman should have accurate information about
all of her options. Information should support a woman, help her make a
decision for herself, and enable her to take care of her health and
well-being. It should not be provided with the intent of shaming,
coercing, or making a woman change her mind. HB1845 clearly singles out
teens and requires physicians to provide the teen with information intended
to coerce and shame her into changing her mind.

Reproductive
health care services are among the safest and mostly commonly sought forms
of care in the U.S. But that hasn't
stopped the anti-women's health movement from dialing up efforts to
eliminate access to abortion through the introduction of TRAP
("targeted restrictions of abortion providers") bills and
regulations that place unreasonable requirements on health care centers. TRAP bills stigmatize and burden abortion
providers and are calculated to chip away at abortion access under the guise
of legitimate regulation. Such bills
recklessly promote an unfounded fear that abortion is unsafe. One in five women has turned to Planned
Parenthood at some time in her life for professional, non-judgmental, and
confidential care. No one else does
more than Planned Parenthood to reduce unintended pregnancies and keep women
healthy.

Abortion
remains the most regulated medical procedure in Missouri despite the fact it
is one of the safest medical
procedures, with minimal—less than 0.05%—risk of complications. Duplicative,
unnecessary inspection regulations that single out abortion providers need be
recognized as part of an effort to drastically reduce access to safe and
legal abortion.

Abortion
remains the most regulated medical procedure in Missouri despite the fact it
is one of the safest medical
procedures, with minimal—less than 0.05%—risk of complications. Duplicative,
unnecessary inspection regulations that single out abortion providers need be
recognized as part of an effort to drastically reduce access to safe and
legal abortion.

Redefines
the definition of medical emergency when performing an abortion post-viability
due to the health of the woman. The
bills prevent a physician from considering any psychological or emotional
conditions when determining what constitutes a medical emergency. No
condition shall be deemed a medical emergency unless result in her death or
in substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily
function. Additionally requires the
Department of Health and Senior Services to inspect any abortion facility
(excluding hospitals) a minimum of 4 times a fiscal year. The bill gives the inspector the power to
immediately close a health center.

Requires
detailed grant reports by Title X family planning agencies that also provide
or refer for abortions. Title X agencies are barred by Federal law from
providing abortions and required to provide information about the option of
abortion if asked. Detailed
accounting—and annual audits—of how Title X funds are used is already a
requirement of the funding.

Current
state law, which has been in place for decades, bans abortion if thought for
the purpose of gathering tissue or organs.
HB 1531 restates the current ban and creates a class C felony for the
physician.

HB
1934 requires the Department of Health and Senior Services to create a video
that contains all the information required to be provided to a woman considering
an abortion. If passed, a woman
seeking abortion services at least 24hours in advance would be given
state-scripted counseling that includes medically inaccurate information
designed to try to change her mind.
The same politically charged information would be repeated 3 times; in
person, in writing and in the forced viewing of a video.

Creates
a new program for disbursing grants through Early Stage Business Development
Corporations. Although already state
law, this bill prohibits any state funds or economic incentives involving
abortion services or to those who refer for abortion.

No
Public Funding for Abortion or Organizations who Perform Abortions
Although
already in state and federal law, these bills duplicate the prohibition of
any public funds or governmental economic incentives to be authorized for a
project involving abortion services, human cloning, or prohibited human
research.

Federal
Nullification – Constitutional Amendment – November Ballot Prohibits
Missouri state government from recognizing, enforcing, or acting in furtherance
of certain actions of the federal government – including Federal actions
legalizing or funding abortions.

Forty-one
years after Roe v. Wade, women's fundamental rights are still under
attack. That's why pro-women’s health
legislators in the Missouri General Assembly have introduced proactive
legislation defending women’s health.
These bills provide common sense policy solutions to the challenge of
unintended pregnancy. It's a bold
step forward for women's health and Planned Parenthood will continue to
defend every woman's right to make her own medical decisions.

Requires
pharmacies to dispense or fill valid and lawful prescriptions for all federal
Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs or devices to prevent pregnancy,
including emergency contraceptives, without discrimination or delay.

This
bill would once again allow trained sex education professionals to be invited
into public schools and would require voluntary sex education courses to
include information on both abstinence and the benefits of contraception. On
April 1, 2014 Rep. Bahr through an amendment in committee removed ALL the
language for comprehensive sex education.
House Committee Substitute (HCS) was passed out that would include
expanding current sex education curriculum to include sexual predators,
online predators, and the consequences of inappropriate text messaging.

Included
in the bill are common sense solutions that will reduce STD’s, unintended
pregnancy and the need for abortion.
The policies include comprehensive, medically accurate sex education,
compassionate assistance for rape emergencies, birth control protection, expansion
of women’s health services and patient protection at pharmacies.

After
a disappointing 2013 and 2014 legislative session where the General Assembly
failed to act, our fight continues. We
are tracking and following multiple bills that could change, reform, or
expand Medicaid. In this tough
economy, more Missourians than ever are out of jobs and many are single
parents making barely enough to survive, let alone support a family. Under the national health reform law,
Missouri has an opportunity to expand Medicaid to provide health insurance to
single parents and childless adults who earn up to 138% of the federal
poverty level, or about $25,000 for a family of three. Taking advantage of this expansion is both
the right thing to do and the smart thing to do for Missouri. We will keep you updated to any significant
changes or bills that would expand Medicaid.